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But check out www.okcupid.com. It's free for all, so you don't have the imbalance you see with pay sites.

They perpetually test your personality, and provide you with a list of likely matches in your area. Dating isn't the primary focus, but for your purposes it should do nicely.

Spend a few days answering the matching questions and browsing through the profiles of people in your area, you'll find some girls to hang out with in no time.

OKCupid is an excellent free service run by the guys who ran TheSpark which was one of the more humorous sites on the interweb before it was sold into evil, soul-less capitalism. The site can be quite entertaining without using the match-making capabilities at all, but also allows you to browse "matches" to find potential dates, check it out.

He could also try Ok Cupid

I have had a profile up on a Spring Street Networks affiliate. I signed up through Nerve.com about three years ago. That means I have had a profile up on that site longer than most other people.

Springstreet handles the personals for a billion sites, including boston.com, the Onion, Fark, and others.

I have gone on about a dozen "dates" during that time, and met some really cool people. I dated a couple for over three months. Springstreet does cater to a somewhat older crowd than your typical Yahoo! personals. It also has a wide variety, since it pulls from so many sites.

I also have a profile on okcupid.com. It is a little more cheesy, but... I have met a few people off of there. More of them are going for "online penpals", to some degree.

Some suggestions: As a male, you have to really work to set your profile apart from others. Be funny, be original. Look at a bunch of ads and see what catches your eye. Look through both males and females. Copy that. Change it regularly. Quantity is good.

PUT UP A PICTURE. Make it a normal headshot, nothing too strange.

BE HONEST! If you are planning on ever meeting these people, they will figure out what is true and not very quickly. Also, honesty helps make your profile even more appealing. It makes you more human, and more approachable.

Read through personals. Read a lot of them before you ever write to someone. Figure out what you like and what you do not like.

When you start writing to someone, comment on their profile. Ask them questions about it. Usually after about 4-5 days of conversing online (usually via email), I will suggest meeting in person. Suggest going out for coffee, at a public location. Make them feel safe. Do not have a first meeting be too involved - dinner might be too much commitment to someone they have never met. Maybe miniature golf. Something where you are able to talk - a movie is not a good idea.

DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY DISMISS ANYONE! if someone writes you, take the courtesy of writing back. I always wait until I meet them in person before making my final decision. Some people just go not come across well online.

BE PATIENT! I have responded to a ton of people, and had a ton of people respond to me (I was a "featured personal of the day" on boston.com one weekend. Got about eight responses in as many hours). A lot of times they do not pan out. The emails stop, or the first meeting is awkward, or... Get used to rejection. Remember - practice makes perfect! Each time I meet a new person for the first time, it is easier than the last. I am now pretty conformable with it, and I am comfortable when I know it is not going well.

[Oh, and I met one person this past weekend. It did not go really well. I am meeting one person tomorrow for the first time (we first started talking back in June!), and another one this Saturday. That is right, I am single again!]

www.orkut.com
and
www.okcupid.com

For friends or dating.

Match.com didn't work out for me. However, I had great success with OKCupid.com. If you're willing to spend a few hours answering hundreds upon hundreds of intensely personal questions, it will use the answers to find people compatible with you.

I went from zero to girlfriend in two months. Your mileage may vary.

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